Angel Reads

12 Aug

New Adult Books That Are Gateways into Reading Romance

Posted by angelreads Discussions, Recommendations 1 Comment

Diving straight into romance from a young adult isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Or even the best option for you. Especially when you don’t read a lot of YA books with romance. So today I thought I would share some of the New Adult/Older YA books that I think are the perfect gateway to reading romance.

I read a lot of NA when I wanted to start reading more romances a few years ago. I think it’s one of the best ways to start reading romacne without jumping right into it. Romance is a massive genre and there are just so many different ways that they could go. But reading the wrong book and jumping in too quickly may put you off reading romance for a long time.

So today I’m sharing the New Adult books that I think are perfect when you want to start reading a little more romance. I have also included some books that are classed as young adult but I think could easily be NA. Anyway enough chit-chatting, let’s go. Like always these are in no order.

Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road #1) by Katie McGarry: I’ve always loved Katie McGarry and nearly all her books border Young Adult/New Adult. But I truly believe that series whole series could be NA. I also think it’s a great gateway to reading MC romances well. Things are a lot tamer in this series, but you get the feel of an MC. I seriously love this series so much.

Trust by Kylie Scott: I really enjoyed this one and again I think it’s a great way to get into romance. It’s a little bit darker, its themes and arc follow what most romance novels do. And it’s fantastic. This is also written by a romance author and that makes me love it even more. If you like this one you can go on to read some of her romances.

The Accidentals by Sarina Bowen: Romance authors know how to write NA. And this one is yet again another great book to pick up, especially if you love music. And while this was published as young adult, it could easily be categories as new adult. This one just has that feel.

It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood: This is another one that was published as YA, but I think is perfect for people wanting to read NA. It explores that last year of school before going off to university and beyond.

The Deal (Off-Campus #1) by Elle Kennedy: You all know how much I love reading Elle Kennedy, so I couldn’t do this post without mentioning the Off-Campus series. It’s one of those series that just screams NA and I think is perfect for getting into romance. It’s spicy and sexy. But it won’t overwhelm you.

Undeclared (Woodlands #1) by Jen Frederick: This is another one like Elle Kennedy that is perfect for those looking for some college romances. It’s a little heavier than some of the other novels. But, it’s a great way to get into either more college or military romances.

Who’s Afraid? (Supernatural Sisters #1) by Maria Lewis: This is a fantastic urban fantasy new adult novel that is perfect for those wanting to move into reading fantasy or paranormal romances. It’s dark but won’t slam you in the face. And I think it’s absolutely fantastic.

Play On (Lewis Creek #1) by Michelle Smith: I don’t talk about this duology enough, but if you haven’t read it – get on it. Play on is fantastic and while it is set in high school, I do feel it gives off more of a new adult vibe. It has that sports romance vibe and I think it’s the perfect step even before you read some new adult novels if you are nervous.

Wilder (The Renegades #1) by Rebecca Yarros: I mean I had to put a Rebecca Yarros book on this list. Not one is she one of my favourite authors, this series is fantastic. It is still sexy and off the charts hot. But it’s a little bit tamer than her other novels. This is one I got my sister to read – who doesn’t read a whole lot.

Getting Lucky Number Seven (Taking Shots #1) by Cindi Madsen: This is another book that is perfect if you want to get more into sports romances. I read this years ago, and I have done a few re-reads since. This whole series is also fantastic and worth a shot.

And there we go, those are some new adult and older young adult books that I think are perfect books as a gateway to romance. Have you read any of these? What books do you recommend to people wanting to read more romance? Let’s Chat!

10 Aug

Secondary Characters Who Deserve More Love

Posted by angelreads Features, Top Ten Tuesday 9 Comments

This week I’m sharing some of my favourite secondary characters. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and Bookish and is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.

For me, secondary and minor characters can make or break a novel. They are the glue that can stick a novel together. So today I thought I would share some of my favourite secondary characters who I think, deserve some more love. From fantasy to romance novels and more, here are those characters that I want people to know more about.

While doing this I realised that there are a lot of secondary characters that I love. There are so many that I would easily add to this list, but they end up having their own book. So I did play with the topic a little and while they might have their own book now if they were a secondary character in a book first, I’m including them. Like always these are in no order.

The whole friendship group from One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston | Grim from Academy of Stardom by Bea Paige | Miles from Lore by Alexandra Bracken | Nick friendship group from The Extraordinaries by T.J Klune

Betsy from Lord of London Town by Tillie Cole | Kit from the Psy-Changeling Series by Nalini Singh | Bergman Family from the Bergman Brothers series by Chloe Liese | Ash from the Hades Hangmen series by Tillie Cole

And there we go, those are some of my favourite secondary characters that deserve more love. Have you read any of these books? Do you agree? Let’s Chat!

08 Aug

Ely’s Favourite Reads of 2021 So Far

Posted by angelreads Guest Post 1 Comment

Hello, everyone! It’s Ely from Earl Grey Books here again to share another post with you all. Today I’ll be telling you all about five of my favourite reads of 2021 so far. So without further ado, let’s just get into it.

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare: I was extremely hesitant going into this book because it seemed like everyone in the romance community had read and loved Tessa Dare and I was worried it was going to be overhyped. Turns out I should’ve listened to Angel and everyone else who told me to read this because this was incredible. This is just such a sweet and fun book, as well as being sexy as hell. What more could you want in a historical romance? If you haven’t read any Tessa Dare yet, here’s yet another person telling you to do that.

Naked in Death by J.D Robb: 2021 has definitely been a year of me trying new genres and tropes and discovering that I actually like them. It turns out that J.D Robb is one of those new things—I won’t commit and say that I like this genre of futuristic romantic suspense. But I did really love this one. I’m genuinely shocked because I hated my first Nora Roberts book that I tried last year. But as J.D Robb I really enjoyed her writing and this story. This is, of course, is a huge series. I haven’t continued it yet but I’ll definitely be dedicating some time to it very soon.

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh: I’ve thought for years now that Agatha Christie is where my enjoyment of crime fiction pretty much began and ended, but last year I tried Dorothy L. Sayers and enjoyed her writing. Because of that, I decided to test myself and pick up some Ngaio Marsh as well and instantly fell in love. A Man Lay Dead has one of my favourite tropes which is the whole murder game thing. People at a party decide to play basically a real-life game of Cluedo only someone is actually murdered. Shock horror! I thought this was just done really well and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it.

Angels’ Blood by Nalini Singh: Here’s another thing Angel has been screaming at me to read…kinda. I’ve been listening to her talk about the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh for months. And so I decided to instead go out and read Singh’s other series so I could torture both of us just a little. Again, this is not my usual genre at all but I was completely in love with this by page 20. I often struggle with the writing in paranormal romances. But this is really well-written and just has this incredibly interesting world and set of characters that I couldn’t help but devour it. It’s made me really excited to get to the Psy-Changeling series as well now.

And that’s it from me today. I hope you’re all doing well and I’ll see you again next month!